Roads Left Untraveled
by Viscaria-Flora
Summary: Regardless of how bumpy the roads in their journeys have been, or the number of failures and bad memories they collect along the way, they can always find solace in each other's company. MizaKai, possible OOCness, spoilers for ep. 136 and on.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own any characters here, the plots, nor the song and the lyrics. The song is "Roads Untraveled" by Linkin Park.

This drabble may be OOC/incorrect in some cases because this is actually my very first Zexal fic based off of what I know from the anime (and I skipped around a lot, so I honestly don't know everything), but yeah, I had a lot of fun writing this. I hope my portrayal of Kaito and Mizael isn't that bad. Anyway, please enjoy!

* * *

Mizael has tasted defeat… a taste one should never get used to, but one he couldn't help but learn and memorize.

It's all he's known, he told himself.

Defeat to him meant failure, and failures welcomed worlds of nothing but disappointment and self-loathing, self-pity, and every sort of negative feeling one can feel; anger that he didn't succeed, hatred for being so pathetic, and greed for pushing himself past his limits just so he could feel a speck of pride in his accomplishments.

Had he ever succeeded in anything before? What had been his goals, and had he ever gotten anything he wanted in any of his lives?

As a human, he knew what he was, what he ran from, and what he sought to protect. He was a dragon tamer who ran from his home that was pillaged when he was a child, and he wanted to protect what had saved him, what had given him a second chance at living, another reason to continue.

And yet… that didn't work out too well, did it? The peace he loved and treasured as he grew older was shattered, and his life was taken away from him. He was prepared to die, but not like he did.

As a Varian, all he had on his mind was protecting Varian World. That was all he knew (at least until he remembered his past life as a human), and it was all that was on his mind. He would cease to exist if his world did, so of course he would do all he could to stop that from happening.

… But look at what happened to him. He was the last Varian to fall, and his very last memory was lying on the floor, watching the blurred colors of red and violet of his world swirl with black before his eyelids drooped closed.

He was defeated again.

And yet, it didn't seem like a failure. Perhaps it was because he put his faith in someone else to finish the job that he couldn't. He believed his goals would be accomplished, even if he wouldn't be around to see it. It was rare when he counted on others… besides the last people left standing, who else did he turn to with high regard?

That's right… his equal.

Ah… how he missed him. He missed their duels, their encounters, their conversations, his face… His silvery gray eyes, which always burned with overwhelming confidence and determination, flooded his mind. He admired the one he called his equal and deemed he was the only one fit with such a title.

He would never tell him thanks to his pride, but, now, his company was all he looked forward to.

* * *

_"Weep not for roads untraveled  
Weep not for paths left alone  
'Cause beyond every bend,  
Is a long blinding end.  
It's the worst kind of pain  
I've known."  
_

* * *

Kaito had come a long way to get as far as he did.

He had kept so many memories of pain, of neglect, and of failures bottled up inside him. He remembered getting brought up over and over again just to be knocked down again. Each time he was praised and helped he was given hope, and every time he fell he lost it all. He can remember when his brother Haruto was taken away from him, when he was sickly and his eyes were void of life, when his mentor taught him about dueling only to shove him aside in the middle of a storm…

All he knew was pain. Because of that pain, he became a puppet, used for other's purposes and entertainment while he struggled just to find his only light in the dark; his little brother.

And yet, throughout all of this, regardless of how many times he had wished everything would just end, he never stopped fighting.

True, the darkness was swallowing him whole, and he was getting lost… no, he had been lost for the longest time… but he kept walking. He kept fighting, kept on going, regardless of how many scars he would receive along the way. It was thanks to a good friend of his that he was able to remember who he was and what he was living for, but he knew he was strong. He had strength, and maybe someday he would be recognized for it rather than the pain he experienced.

He didn't want to be known for what he went through. No one wants to be determined and recognized by their past. He wanted to be known for the future he would forge with his own hands, and by the power he had in his cards and in his soul.

And besides, why would he of all people dwell on such daunting thoughts when he had so many happy memories to smile to? He wasn't alone in the world, and even those who initially hurt him in the past he befriended to this day. He wasn't sad. He wasn't in pain anymore, no.

Even as he drew in his final breath, he wasn't unhappy. His life was one hell of a ride, he was sure. But he couldn't say he would have it any other way.

There was someone who knew nothing about him but still respected him… his equal. He was the last sight he saw before his world faded to black. Where is he now? Did he miss him? He was an interesting fellow, and though they always confronted each other as enemies, there was always something about their duels and their interactions that made his equal different than all the rest he's ever met. Had they met under different circumstances, he concluded, they would have most certainly been friends.

He can't wait until they meet again to hear his story.

* * *

_"Give up your heart left broken,  
__And let that mistake pass on.  
'Cause the love that you lost  
Wasn't worth what it cost,  
And in time you'll be glad it's gone."_

* * *

The world around them was black. There were no lights, no colors, nor worlds around them. It was pitch black, and difficult to see anything, including themselves. Even as they brought their hands to their faces, they saw almost nothing at all. The kind of silence that blanketed them was one that could drive a person insane in less than five minutes, but for them, it was calm and peaceful.

It was easily breakable though.

"It's good to see you again, Kaito."

Kaito nodded, though he knew the Varian couldn't see him. "Same to you, Mizael. I've been waiting for you."

Mizael tilted his head, unable to suppress the tinge of curiosity in his voice. "Have you?"

"Yes."

A moment of silence passed, and Mizael let out a small sigh, his hand reached to toy with his hair (though it left not even a ghost of a touch on his fingertips). Kaito let a small smile form on his lips as he rested his arms on his knees and looked up. They couldn't see, but they knew they were beside one another, and hearing their own voices communicating was good enough for them.

"… What a long journey it has been," the Tenjo spoke softly, as if lost in thought, "for the both of us."

Mizael glanced in Kaito's direction, though he couldn't make eye contact with him. Oh, how he missed seeing those silver eyes of his. "At least we can say it ended on a positive note."

Kaito chuckled softly. "Sure, if you call the destruction of Human and Varian Worlds a positive note."

"You know what I mean, Kaito." Mizael scoffed, twisting his hair around his index finger. He paused for a moment as Kaito refused to give any sort of response, and let his hand fall. "I can't help but feel bad for leaving as soon as I did, though. I feel as though I could have done more to save our worlds."

Kaito turned his head in Mizael's direction. "It's alright, I believe we left the worlds in good hands. It may seem like it would be overwhelming to Yuma and Shark, but I know they can handle it on their own. They're capable of so much… perhaps even more than me."

"I can't help but doubt that," the Varian shook his head. "But I trust them just as much as you do. They'll be alright."

Kaito nodded. "That I'm certain of."

Everything grew quiet again, and they both longed for someone to say something else, for words to escape their lips, for some sort of acknowledgement that they knew they were still beside one another. It was so dark it was easy to forget someone was there next to them. And yet… what was that? Upon glancing up at what would have been the sky, they could see a single speck of light. Was that a star?

Yes, it was… and beside it, another one appeared… and another one… and another. In a matter of seconds, the entire black sky, once void of all color and light, was illuminated by millions and millions of stars. Mizael and Kaito gazed at the little lights in awe, amazed they could see something besides black.

Mizael's first instinct upon seeing the stars was to look at Kaito, and that he did, mostly in search of the gray eyes he'd come to admire most about the Tenjo. It took him a while to realize Kaito was already looking at him, and as they finally made eye contact, the Varian noticed while there wasn't the familiar silver color in his eyes, there was the tiny dots of lights reflected in his eyes from the countless stars in the sky.

Though he would never tell him, he had never seen a more lovely sight.

"Mizael?"

He was quickly brought out of his thoughts, and he resisted the urge to break the eye contact they were finally able to make. "Yes?" Kaito smiled warmly, and for a second, Mizael thought he felt his heart flutter in his chest… except he had no heart; "What is it?"

…

"You have yet to tell me your story."

* * *

"Weep not for roads untraveled.  
Weep not for sights unseen.  
May your love never end,  
And if you need a friend,  
There's a seat here alongside me."


End file.
